Girish Dhall, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, will join the O’Neal Cancer Clinical Trials Taskforce. The mission of this taskforce is to develop a strategic plan to improve the clinical trials process at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and UAB. Members of the taskforce span the clinical trials spectrum.
Congratulations Dr. Dhall!
L to R: Erinn Schmitt, M.D., assistant program director, Hannah Gardner, M.D., 2nd Year Fellow, Alexandra Healy, M.D., 1st Year Fellow, Jennifer Hoefert, M.D., 2nd Year Fellow, Samantha Hanna, M.D., 1st Year Fellow, and Chang Wu, M.D., program director.We are proud to announce that the UAB Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) Fellowship Program has been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). “We are extremely excited to be one of the first pediatric hospital medicine fellowships to receive ACGME accreditation in the certification’s inaugural year,” said Chang Wu, M.D., program director for the UAB PHM Fellowship. The subspecialty of pediatric hospital medicine has been working to receive recognition and certification from the American Board of Pediatrics as well as accreditation for training programs from the ACGME since the early 2010s. This certification cycle of the ACGME marks the first opportunity for pediatric hospital medicine fellowship programs to be accredited.
Since it was established in 2012 by Robert Pass, M.D., division director of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, the UAB PHM Fellowship Program has successfully trained many academic hospitalists to date, a majority of whom now hold formal leadership roles in their respective institutions. Currently, under the leadership of Dr. Chang Wu, program director, and Erinn Schmit, M.D., assistant program director, the UAB PHM Fellowship Program continues to attract ever-growing numbers of competitive fellowship applications as the subspecialty of pediatric hospital medicine becomes established.
“ACGME accreditation will see our program join the current panel of subspecialty fellowships that promote the department’s vision of academic excellence,” said Dr. Wu. “For our trainees, we will continue to emphasize quality clinical care, education, and scholarly pursuit as we strive to cultivate the future leaders of our specialty while providing optimal care to the hospitalized child.”
Congratulations to the UAB PHM Fellowship Program, our PHM fellows and program directors!
Ambika Ashraf, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology, has been named a Fellow of the National Lipid Association (FNLA). This award recognizes her excellence and leadership in clinical lipidology. The NLA reserves the honor of FNLA for members who have made a significant contribution regionally or nationally to clinical lipidology research and practice.
Congratulations Dr. Ashraf!
Michael Stalvey, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology, served on the planning committee of ResearchCon 2020, a free virtual event for the cystic fibrosis (CF) community on Thursday, April 16. ResearchCon2020 focused on the next stage of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) science and genetic-based therapies. The conference was sponsored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and included live virtual presentations by researchers, clinicians and community members on CFTR. Dr. Stalvey also co-hosted one of the sessions titled “Wait – CFTR isn’t Just in the Lungs?!?”. During this session, Dr. Stalvey discussed the complications of CF outside of the lung, particularly CF-related diabetes, growth and bone health, providing patients and families with a better understanding of how today’s research and novel therapies apply to them. The conference was a huge success with more than 1,400 participants from across the United States attending the virtual event.
Congratulations Dr. Stalvey!
Randy Cron, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatric Rheumatology, and Winn Chatham, M.D., Rheumatology, have been awarded a grant to study the treatment of Cytokine Storm Syndrome in COVID-19 patients. They will serve as co-PIs on their project titled, “Early Identification and Treatment of Cytokine Storm Syndrome in COVID-19.”
The grant was awarded by the School of Medicine and Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute from COVID-19 research funding. It was one of 14 projects selected to receive funding to study various implications of COVID-19. Over 50 applications were submitted for consideration.
The project is a small clinical trial to compare standard of care to standard of care plus anakinra treatment in COVID-19+ adults at UAB with signs of cytokine storm syndrome. Drs. Cron and Chatham and will use the funding for whole genome sequencing and laboratory explorations as related to cytokine storm syndrome.
Congratulations Dr. Cron!
Smita Bhatia, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, has been invited to become a member of the National Cancer Policy Forum of the National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine.
The National Cancer Policy Forum brings experts together to identify and examine issues in science, clinical medicine, public health and public policy related to cancer research and care. The Forum works collaboratively to address these issues and create activities focused on action. The Forum’s membership includes representatives from a wide range of cancer expertise and interest groups including patient advocates, clinicians, scientists, patients, federal agencies, nonprofits and industries.
“Being a member of the NCPF will allow me to be at the table with representatives from the government, industry and academia to identify high-priority policy issues related to cancer survivorship research,” said Dr. Bhatia. “This will be a tremendous opportunity to represent our cancer survivors.”
Congratulations Dr. Bhatia!
Sarah Novara, M.D., Pediatric Neurology, has been invited to join the College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM) Dean's Leadership Council at Auburn University. The Council is a diverse group of alumni who reflect the breadth of the sciences and mathematics and are models in their community.
“By serving on the Council, I look forward to participating in efforts that will support the faculty and will empower undergraduate and graduate students to pursue their dreams of becoming healthcare professionals,” said Dr. Novara. “The College of Sciences and Mathematics served a crucial role in offering me the background I needed moving forward on the path to becoming a physician. I also look forward to mentoring students and supporting COSAM in its outreach programs such as the Society of Women in Sciences and Mathematics.”
Dr. Novara graduated Summa Cum Laude from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Spanish in 2008.
Congratulations Dr. Novara!
The UAB Pediatric Pulmonary Center (PPC), funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), recently hosted the 10th Annual Making Lifelong Connections (MLC) meeting on April 2, 2020. Originally planned as a three-day conference to be hosted in Nashville, was transitioned to a one-day virtual platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With less than three weeks to prepare, the MLC Planning Committee convened the conference using distance technology with huge success! The conference theme for this year was to learn how to provide technical assistance using technology and social media. The planning committee quickly modified the agenda to suit a digital platform, and speakers adjusted their presentations to engage the audience members digitally, such as a series of polls, chats and digital scavenger hunts.
Both current and former MCHB trainees from different programs and disciplines across the country joined together for networking and leadership opportunities. The conference included poster presentations, panel discussions on leadership and research, and featured speakers. Michael Warren, M.D., associate administrator of the MCHB, was the keynote speaker.
Laurel Hitchcock, Ph.D., associate professor of Social Work at UAB, was a featured speaker and instrumental in teaching the role of social and digital technologies as a tool for building a professional collaboration network. Dr. Hitchcock is a former trainee of the UAB Center of Excellence in MCH Education, Science and Practice. She engaged trainees to create a professional Twitter account prior to the meeting to promote the conference by using #MLC2020 and @LifelongMaking.
The conference allowed trainees to opportunity to present and to build on current skills and make new connections. Many realized that there are many opportunities to continue work with MCHB outside of traineeship.
Despite the current pandemic and the move to a virtual platform, the conference was a great success with many trainees still engaging during the meeting. This conference would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the following PPC faculty: Linda Russo, MAE (family faculty), Theresa Rodgers, DNP, CRNP, (nursing faculty), and Valerie Tarn, MS, RD, LD (nutrition faculty).
Amy Freeman, M.D., First Year Fellow, and Vivek Shukla, M.D., First Year Fellow, Neonatology, received fellow research awards from the Society of Pediatric Research (SPR) as part of the Pediatric Academic Society (PAS) meeting. Though the PAS Meeting did not take place this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, awards were handed out for submitted abstracts.
Dr. Freeman received the SPR Fellow’s Basic Research Award for her research “Germ Free Mice are Protected whereas Humanized Mice with Severe BPD Airway Microbiome Develop severe Lung Injury in Hyperoxia.”
Dr. Shukla received the SPR Fellow’s Clinical Research Award for his research “Effect of Indomethacin Prophylaxis on Cerebral and Abdominal Tissue Oxygenation by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Preterm Neonates.”
These awards are given annually to honor pediatric fellows who are engaged in clinical and basic science research and are designed to encourage trainees to pursue careers in academic pediatrics.
Congratulations Drs. Freeman and Shukla!
The following residents have been selected to travel to Chile next year as part of the resident exchange program.
Sarah Grace Engel, M.D., PGY-1, Child Neurology
Anne Byrd Mahoney, M.D., PGY-2, Pediatrics
Jordan Ashcraft, M.D., PGY-2, Pediatrics
Patrick Snyder, M.D., PGY-2, Pediatrics
The resident exchange program was initiated in 2002 between the UAB Pediatric Residency Program and the Catholic University in Santiago, Chile. Initially, two residents from UAB traveled to Chile to complete a one-month rotation under the supervision of local faculty. Two residents from Chile came to the department and spent two months rotating on subspecialties of their choosing. In 2012 this program was expanded to the Universidad del Desarrollo/Clinica Alemana with an additional two residents from UAB participating in the exchange.
Both university systems in Chile have an academic hospital and a community hospital. This global health opportunity has allowed UAB Pediatrics residents to gain new knowledge of health care delivery systems, the differences in health care resources, the spectrum of clinical problems, as well as pathologies associated with a foreign environment.
The exchange is funded by the Child Health Foundation, Birmingham, Alabama.